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Kou Yuri
Princess Yuri (百合姫 Yuri-hime) is the wife of Kou Reishin and the adoptive mother of Li Kouyuu. Appearance Yuri is a beautiful woman with long fair hair and possibly light-colored or dark-colored eyes. She bears a strong resemblance to her half-brother Shi Senka and Shi Ryuuki, which confused Shi Seiran when he first met her a long time ago at the Kou Residence. Yuri is said to be around thirty-five years of age during her actual introduction into the series and she is known to be younger than Kou Shouka, but older then Reishin. Personality & Characteristics Throughout childhood, Yuri was concealed as a young boy. As a result, she tends to fall back into a masculine speech pattern (using the pronoun boku). She first appears in the gaiden and the 13th novel, which have not been animated. Her age lies somewhere in the five-year gap between Shouka and Reishin. Plot Yuri was the daughter of Kou Gyokukan, the paternal great-aunt of Kou Shouka, Kou Reishin and Kou Kurou. Unknown to most, she is the younger half-sister of the previous Emperor, Shi Senka, thus has been attributed the title 'hime' or 'princess'. Her mother, Gyokukan, was a celebrated beauty in the capital, but she took Yuri away to Kou province to avoid the traditional fate of the princesses of the Shi family, who were sent away to the Hyou clan to become priestesses. In Kou province, Yuri was disguised for many years as a servant boy named Yuzuriha (譲葉 Yuzuriha) and Gyokukan arranged the deaths of all servants who knew of Yuri's existence. By concealing her daughter, Gyokukan hoped to increase the power of the Kou clan and eventually install her daughter as the country's queen regnant. To this end, she engaged Yuri to Shouka, but had Yuri become Reishin's servant in order to learn about politics and become involved with the clan's affairs. However, Reishin met Yuri before she disguised herself as Yuzuriha and he fell in love with her, refusing to acknowledge her as Shouka's bride or as Yuzuriha. Gyokukan was eventually assassinated by Shouka on his first mission as the Black Wolf and Shouka broke off his engagement to Yuri. Yuri remained disguised in the Kou clan, except when she was caring for Kou Kurou. When Reishin decided to leave Kou province to follow Shouka and take the Imperial Exams, Yuri was the only person he took with him. After bringing Li Kouyuu into their family, she warned the boy from trying to escape, supposedly because the Kou manor was haunted. To make him believe this, she had the furniture rearranged all the time so that he would always get lost, which eventually resulted Kouyuu's lacking any sense of direction. Kurou, whom she had helped to raise from childhood, sent her a letter encouraging her to marry Reishin, but the letter became blurred and Yuri mistook the message as 'please find Reishin a bride', so she joined the Kogarou to find an ideal wife for him. Instead, Yuri won the interest of Ko Kijin by being one of the few people who didn't faint when seeing his real face, which made him like her and ask her out on a date (via message to Reishin); at first she was uninterested, but Reishin persuaded her to go and then spied on them with the reluctant Tei Yuushun. Yuri eventually succeeded in her long-sought desire to meet her brother by sneaking into the palace. Though she expected Senka to kill her, he offered her a place in the Inner Palace to care for Ryuuki. Before she could accept, Reishin burst in and dragged Yuri back home. Reishin ransomed Yuri from Kogarou and registered her as his wife while she was only half-conscious. When she woke up, Reishin has told her that she is the only person for whom he will play the biwa, and that since they already had a son (Kouyuu), they needn't have more children. Afterward, she often traveled away from their home to perform Reishin's duties as head of the Kou clan. Kouyuu thought that Yuri was an ideal partner for Reishin but that Reishin was not an ideal partner for her (since Reishin rarely shows his likes and dislikes), and he became worried that Yuri was unhappy. In response, Yuri said that she was happy and would never leave them. Yuri does not appear in the main story until the 13th novel, though she is alluded to in earlier novels when Reishin and Shouka are discussing Shuurei's possible marriage prospects. When Reishin expresses the desire to marry his niece to prevent anyone else from marrying her, Shouka mentions that Reishin is already married and his wife is the only one who could put up with him. Shouka also goes on to say that Yuri is the one responsible for raising Kouyuu into a capable and fine young man. When the news of Kouyuu's imprisonment comes to Kou Province, Yuri returns to Kiyo and meets Shuurei and Ensei. She later reveals her identity to Shuurei as her aunt when visiting Kouyuu in jail. She plays the biwa to Kouyuu, dissolving the trance cast by the Hyou clan. After her husband and child are stripped from their positions, many officials from the Kou clan decide to withdraw in sympathy. Reishin wants to return to Kou province, but to his dismay, Yuri-hime decides to remain in Kiyou (the Imperial Capital) with her son. Skills & Talents Biwa She is an excellent biwa player, though she does not play often because her style resembles that of her mother's, which would give away her identity as Gyokukan's daughter. Relationships Li Kouyuu Kouyuu wanted Yuri to marry Reishin and become his mother; in turn, she was very fond of Kouyuu and thought of him as her own child. Kou Shouka She used to be in love with him in the past. She was engaged to him and was meant to be his bride. However, Shouka never returned her feelings and broke off the engagement. Kou Reishin She never liked Reishin in the beginning and was his servant. However, after spending over 15 years with him as his servant Reishin quietly fell in love with her. So, he tricked her into refusing Kou Houju proposal. Later when she went to meet her brother and he asked her to enter the Inner Palace, Reishin barged in and dragged her back with him, ransomed her out of the Kogarou and registered her as his wife. Kou Kurou She raised Kurou and he is like a younger brother to her. He encouraged Yuri to marry Reishin however she mistook his messege as a request to find Reishin a bride, prompting her to join the brothel Kogarou to find an ideal bride for Reishin. Shi Senka In accompanying Reishin to the capital, Yuri had hoped to fulfill her longstanding wish to meet her elder brother, Shi Senka. In spite of his ruthlessness in persecuting his own family, Senka was shown to be much more lenient towards Yuri as he didn't kill her when she sneaked into the palace. Instead, he asked her to enter the Inner Palace to care for Ryuuki, who was helpless after Seien's exile and his mother's death. Gallery reishin and yuri.jpg|Yuri and Reishin gaiden 3 - reishin yuri kouyuu.png|Kou Reishin, Yuri and Li Kouyuu Gaiden 3 - reishin yuri yuushun.png|Reishin, Yuri and Tei Yuushun volume 14 - shuurei meets yuri.png|Kou Shuurei meets her aunt. References Category:Characters Category:Shi Clan Members Category:Kou Clan Members Category:Female Characters